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The first of the Royal Navy’s (RN’s) Type 45 destroyers, HMS Daring, has set sail on operational duty fitted with Thales UK’s new fully digital radar electronic support measures (RESM) system. The platform, the first of the Daring class, has been fitted with new digital antennas supplied by Thales as part of the UAT MOD 2 update programme.

In conjunction with the UK Ministry of Defence, Thales has developed the direct radio frequency sampling and wideband digital receiver technology necessary to achieve a true digital antenna. This joint development is the result of a six-year, multi-million pound research programme.

The technology is claimed to provide excellent system performance in the modern dense radar environment and is capable of managing multiple, truly simultaneous signals. This enables the ship to operate in all operational maritime theatres, including the littoral, and provides the RN with world-leading electronic warfare support and threat-identification technology.

Phil Naybour, head of Thales UK’s naval business, said, “We continue to provide cutting edge electronic warfare technology to the RN, and the innovative technology in the UAT MOD 2 programme now digitises the environment right behind the antenna. The capability and flexibility of the associated processing algorithms means more capability for the navy now and in the future, while minimising through-life cost.”

To meet the operational requirements of the Type 45 programme Thales undertook a challenging programme to provide the first two Type 45s with this critical technology. The company delivered the programme, maturing the technology from the demonstrator phase through to platform acceptance in around 19 months.